November 22, 1906
_____
10:15 A. M.
Music: Fifty-fifth
Iowa Regimental Band
“Home, Sweet Home”
Address:
Captain Charles W.
Kepler, Thirteenth Iowa Regiment
Comrades of the
Thirteenth Iowa, Governor Cummins, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Forty-four years ago and more, on this sacred spot, the
Thirteenth Iowa Infantry formed its first line of battle to resist the assaults
of the enemy.
Fortunate mortals are we to live to see this day; to witness
with our own eyes what the loyal and generous people of Iowa have done to
perpetuate the memory of her soldiers. Standing here before this beautiful
monument, placed here by the generous and loyal people of Iowa, what memories
come thronging back to us from the distant past, mingled with joy and sadness;
memories of those dark and stormy days when a war cloud hung over this country
like a pall of night. Brother had taken up arms against brother. The air was
filled with the melody of the fife and drum. The whole earth seemed to tremble
with the mighty tramp of the armies going forth to battle; memories of a young,
happy manhood, with all the hopes and ambitions of the future; the camp life;
the drill; the inspection; the reveille; the tattoo; the wounded; the dying;
the dead; our gallant and brave commander, Colonel Crocker; our company
commanders; our bunk-mates; our mothers and sweethearts all left behind; the
thoughts of loved ones at home, just before the battle, all come thronging back
to us on this occasion. Is it all a dream? No! it is a reality.
If all the living officers and men of that grand old
regiment that formed its first line of battle here more than forty-four years
ago were here present today, but few of that gallant old regiment would answer.
Why? Because they have made their last march, fought their last battle, heard
the last tattoo on earth and are now answering the roll-call beyond the skies.
Forty-four years and more battling with the problems of
civil life have left their impress on our physical bodies. Our steps are not as
elastic, our eyes are not as bright and sparkling, we are not quite as handsome
as we were forty-four years ago; but in our hearts and imaginations we are boys
again. We shall never grow old.
Isn’t it sad to think that the grand old army of the Union
shall soon pass from this earth?
Eleven Iowa regiments fought on this battlefield. The
legislature of Iowa appropriated $50,000 to erect monuments on this field to
commemorate the memory of her sons who fought here. The governor of Iowa
appointed eleven commissioners, one from each regiment, to procure designs,
determine the kind and character of the monuments, and to locate the same.
I had the honor to be selected the commissioner to represent
the Thirteenth Iowa. Comrades of the Thirteenth Iowa, I have performed that
trust to the best of my ability. I have taken great pains to keep all my
comrades in touch with what we were doing. Not one penny of the state's money
has been misappropriated. The commissioners have worked hard to carry out the
trust reposed in them, without any consideration to themselves except the great
honor conferred in their appointment. It is not for us to say how well we have
performed our work. We can only point you to the monuments which we have
erected, and it is for you and the people of Iowa to say whether or not we have
faithfully performed our trust. If our work in the selection of the monuments
and of the location of the same are satisfactory to you and the people of Iowa,
I shall feel well paid for the time and labor I have expended in carrying out
my part of the work.
Comrades, much as you may shrink from it, our fighting days
are over. If other wars shall come to our beloved country, from foes without or
foes within, others must fight those battles but it will be a pleasure and
comfort to us in our declining years to remember this most enjoyable trip to
the southland, in company with our beloved governor and to know that when we
are gone, and the generations that shall follow us are gone, this beautiful
monument will stand as a silent witness that the people of Iowa fully
appreciate the sacrifices, sufferings and devotion of her sons who fought for
the Union on this battlefield — the hardest fought battle of the west, and one
of the hardest fought battles of the civil war.
Benediction:
Rev. Dr. A. L.
Frisbie of Des Moines, Iowa
“We thank thee, O God, for the conspicuous success that has
marked the endeavors of the commission which has erected these monuments. We
pray thee that thy blessing may be so upon us that we shall move forward in
these days of peace, to fight the battles which must yet be fought, that the
work begun by these brave soldier boys may be carried on, and that the blessing
of the Lord Jesus Christ may be upon us. In His name we ask it. Amen.”
SOURCE: Alonzo Abernathy, Editor, Dedication
of Monuments Erected By The State Of Iowa, p. 217-9
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